The Aftermath ✔

20 A BAD IDEA

Slade tried to ignore the fact that Davenport conveniently had a holding area on hand. It was a single jail cell, bars on all four sides. In the center of it, Lomos sat, posture and expression stoic.

Other than the cage, there was nothing more in this open room. Davenport stood off to the side but Eli, next to Slade, watched the wolf brigade captain with contempt.

After a full five minutes of silence, Slade hove a sigh. She supposed she would be the one to do this. A part of her had expected Lomos to be forthcoming, to even explain himself straight away without prompting. That didn't come to pass.

Lomos didn't apologize, but he spoke first. "What he's doing is just."

Eli bristled but Slade caught his hand, unsure what had gotten into him. Slade half wondered if Eli also had a Legion. Until now, Eli was thoughtful, conscientious, slow to anger, and open to hearing everybody out.

Slade was unsure what had changed. When Eli's hand slipped around her waist, she regarded him in confusion.

The man was putting his faith into her, akin to saying, You do it. I can't trust myself.

But Slade could barely stomach it. When she regarded Lomos again, she saw the anguish tinging his cold exterior—this bothered the brigade captain greatly.

"How can it be just, Lom? He's going to kill a baby to break the covenant. You can't believe this is just."

Two brown eyes narrowed in on her. "And what's the alternative? Vampires keep deteriorating into deranged lunatics?"

"What do you care?" Eli snapped.

Slade held his hand on her waist to keep him calm. It worked. He slunk behind her.

As painful as those words were, Eli had a point, what did a werewolf brigade captain care about the plights of vampires?

Lomos watched her and she returned the gaze.

"What we are now is unfortunate, but we've earned it," Slade explained. "To take an innocent life—to...to take an innocent life for the sake of our own necks? That only solidifies my stance that vampires need not rise to power again."

Arms folded against his chest, Davenport watched on with a nod. Slade ignored his acknowledgement and instead tried to reason with the werewolf behind the bars.

"Think of what this is; this is barbaric."

"Right," Lomos scoffed, "and what do you plan to do? How will you fix this? Every soothsayer and harpy within a hundred miles must know something about this. So long as the focus is breaking the covenant, I bet you any money they'll stay out. But as soon as the focus changes to stay in and rise to power again, bet your ass Children of Runes from coast to coast will bear down on that place."

"We cannot really do that, though," Davenport interjected, "interfering with the will of Fate."

Lomos scoffed. "No? Then how did these two end up in that mansion trying to steal back a harpy and her egg?"

Slade came to Davenport's rescue. "He'd sent us back to the parking lot—"

"At what time? A day later? The very moment we were sent to find you all?"

Had it been a day later? It felt like mere hours.

"Wake up. People with the gift can't directly interfere, no. But they'll pull whatever strings they have to. And they won't be the ones in the crossfire."

Davenport eased off the wall. "Now see here—"

"It's okay," Slade told him without looking back. "Maybe it was in your best interest but it was in our interest, too. So I don't care. Thank you for giving us a chance to go back there." She stepped closer to the bars and begged Lomos, "How do I stop him? How do I stop Manos?"